Mesopotamian civilisation
Also called: Mesopotamia, Land between the rivers · Topic: Bronze Age Civilisations: Mesopotamia, Egypt, China · NCERT: Class 6, Ch 6 "The Beginnings of Indian Civilisation"; Class 9, Ch 4 "Early Humans and Beginning of Civilisation"; Class 11, Ch 1 "Writing and City Life"
Meaning
Mesopotamia means "land between the rivers". The name comes from Greek mesos (middle) and potamos (river). It is the land between the Euphrates and Tigris, today mostly Iraq. The world's first cities and writing grew up in its southern desert c. 3200–3000 BCE, because river silt and canals made farming there very productive. It is famous for cuneiform writing, law codes, mathematics, astronomy and the 60-minute hour.
Example
Uruk grew to 250 hectares by c. 3000 BCE, twice the size Mohenjo-daro would later reach. Its scribes made the first written tablets, which were temple accounts, c. 3200 BCE.
Don't confuse with
- Harappan civilisation: it used stamp seals and had planned cities with street drains. Mesopotamia used cylinder seals, and Ur had no town planning or street drains. Cuneiform has been deciphered, but the Harappan script has not.